The employer's handbook, 2026 edition
Hiring your first person in the Netherlands is not hard, but it has more moving parts than most founders expect. This handbook walks you through each one in plain English: what you will need, what it really costs, and what tends to go wrong.
Six stops between “yes, I accept” and money in their account. Each one opens the chapter that covers it.
Offer
Agree salary, hours and start date. Decide who will be the legal employer.
Contract
A Dutch arbeidsovereenkomst, checked against any CAO that applies.
Register
Register as an employer for loonheffingen, or let an EOR employ for you.
Day one
ID check, payroll details, sick-leave process and an arbodienst in place.
Payroll run
Wage tax and premiums are calculated and filed each pay period.
First payslip
A loonstrook with gross, net, holiday allowance build-up and pension.
Contents
Your first Dutch hire
How to employ your first person in the Netherlands, with or without a Dutch entity. The options, the order of steps and the paperwork you will need before day one.
7 pages
Contracts & CAO
What goes into a Dutch employment contract, how fixed-term and permanent contracts differ, and how to find out whether a collective labour agreement (CAO) applies to you.
4 pages
Sick leave & absence
Dutch employers keep paying wages during illness for up to two years. This chapter explains your obligations, the reintegration process and how to insure the risk.
4 pages
Holiday pay, leave & pension
Holiday allowance, statutory leave days, parental and care leave, and when you must offer a pension scheme. The recurring costs that are easy to forget in a budget.
4 pages
Payroll outsourcing
How Dutch payroll works each month, what a payroll provider takes off your hands, and what you should still check yourself before every pay run.
5 pages
True cost of an employee
From gross salary to total employer cost: premiums, holiday allowance, pension, insurance and provider fees, laid out so you can build an honest budget.
3 pages
EOR or your own BV
When an employer of record is the sensible start, when your own Dutch BV becomes the better choice, and how to switch without disrupting your staff.
6 pages
Employer checklists
Step-by-step checklists for the moments that matter: before an offer, before day one, at the first payroll run, during sick leave and when someone leaves.
7 pages
Before you hire anyone
Dutch terms, explained once
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Chapter 01
Chapter 02
